What is our philosophy when it comes to the design and production of playgrounds?
At InspiredPlay, we are always coming up with new and inspiring, innovative and creative ideas when it comes to outdoor play. We design playgrounds with a few core beliefs in mind – they should do justice to children’s:
- endless capacity for adventure and imagination,
- fundamental need for exercise and social interaction, and
- innate sense of fun.
Well-used and well-loved places to play should almost always be integrated within the cohesive design of a wider community space. Places where our keiki play can be important social places, not just for children and young people, but also for parents, carers and the wider community. They should be places where young people can:
- enjoy spending time
- be physically active
- interact with their natural surroundings
- experience change and continuity
- take risks in an environment where they feel safe, and
- of course, play – alone or with others – in a wide variety of ways.
These places, in both rural and urban areas, might include:
- residential streets,
- town and city squares,
- playgrounds in parks and other open spaces,
- woods and commons,
- recreation grounds or public spaces on housing estates
– anywhere that play is a legitimate use of the space.
Our hope for everyone involved in commissioning and designing places for play is simply that they put play value at the heart of provision. We believe in designing good play spaces which:
- can be affordably maintained,
- give children the freedom to play creatively,
- and yet still allow them to experience risk, challenge and excitement.
We want to challenge provides to take a new approach and think more laterally and creatively about children and young people. To some, our ideas and aspirations may at first seem unrealistic and unattainable; however, our work shows that with imagination, planning and an understanding of children’s needs, it is possible to create and maintain exciting play areas for children and young people of different ages, sometimes by making only small changes to existing provision.
Here’s to dreaming up ideas and planning practical resources for building new play areas in a fresher and more inspiring way, every day.
Need more inspiration? Contact us!